Jobseeker’s diary

My boss is back, finally. At least now, I get to leave the drab home setting. God I can’t imagine how housewives survive this routine. Staying home the entire day, doing dishes, cooking and cleaning day in day out almost drove me insane. And when all the chores are done, there’s nothing else to do but sleep. How uneventful! Getting back to work is such a welcome break. Speaking of work, my arrangement with Simon is not working. For the time he was away, I realized I needed a real job, one that will help me pay the bills and gain “financial freedom”, a term many NGOs and some banks are endeared to. I really liked working with Simon, but I also want to see some real progress in my life, sooner than later. I want to be able to have more than just enough money for transport and lunch and on rare occasions, a little more to buy airtime (or more aptly ‘me to you’ as many people here call it) and so I gave notice to let Simon know I wanted to move on. He didn’t get into a fit and in fact he was kind enough to give me a small send off package and a good recommendation letter. I will really miss this man. My first stop in my renewed job hunt was Diane. You must remember her, the contact Jerry, another mzungu gave me many months ago but who I later learnt was out of the country? Well, she’s back but unfortunately, she left the restaurant and is now doing consultancy work. The restaurant, she said, is now managed by Chinese. Nevertheless, Diane told me to try my luck, adding that the best time to ask for a job is when a place or company in under new management. Not one to waste time, I was at the restaurant the next day and Diane was right. A notice had been posted on the fence, calling for waiters and waitresses. From where I stood, I could tell that interviews were being conducted and I couldn’t stop thanking the stars for this perfect timing opportunity. A million possibilities were running through my mind. Soon, it was my turn. A Chinese lady, called Linah, was conducting the interviews and I worried I wouldn’t catch the questions. But to my relief, her accent was actually quite normal. She asked a few questions, mainly about my age, where I lived and my work experience, and then told me I was hired. “Just like that?” I asked her, stupefied. Laughing at my surprise, she replied: “You have the basics we’re looking for so yes, you are in.” I was to report to work the following day at 9a.m., to serve as a waitress. I was glad I had been offered a job in record time, having undergone the shortest interview of my life but I couldn’t shake off the feeling that it was all too good to be true. I kept waiting for Linah to drop a bombshell (I always get paranoid in such circumstances) but she didn’t. The only thing she said was that I was “overqualified” for the post and for that reason, I would be given a shorter probation period and if I proved myself, I would be promoted to manager in a matter of months. You can’t imagine my joy at hearing those words. Later, I was introduced to some of the other staff I would be working with and Linah told me I would get more details about my tasks, what was expected of me and salary etc when I reported officially for duty. I couldn’t help whistling and singing as I walked back home and couldn’t wait to tell Jane about it all. To be continued… nsophie77@yahoo.com